Chapter 10: 1991: The Crucial Year
The roof
The state of the roof, 1991
The greatest challenge was presented by the roof. This was in an extremely poor state due to a mixture of neglect and of ill-conceived repairs using asbestos instead of lead. In fact, as the work on it progressed, the state of the roof structure proved to be even worse than had been apparent at the outset, with a vast amount of woodwork proving to be rotten and having to be replaced. Gradually, however, the renewed roof emerged, with the chimneys being built up first and then the wooden structure of gulleys and gables around them. I have photographs that record this work in some detail, revealing that we built up the chimney above the sitting room in cheap bricks in the expectation of its being rendered, whereas the central chimney stack and the small one for the boiler were done in bricks of proper quality. A massive amount of leadwork had to be provided, because the gulleys on the house are so large. Here there was a slight mishap, in that too long a length of lead was used in one place on the central gulley, which has resulted in its cracking. Daniel Brown, from A1 Roofs, told me that the length exceeded the official limit, and the crack was the outcome: it has now been replaced by a proper joint. The slates all seem fine: those that could be salvaged from the old roof were supplemented by recycled replacement ones. The ridge tiles were originally going to be of red terracotta, but then we decided that grey would look better. The roof light made by Carey & Edwards seems to have been the subject of delay but ultimately arrived and was installed, as was a complete set of gutters - using plastic, not cast iron, since none are visible from the street - along with appropriate drains to take this water and other waste water from the house. It is perhaps worth adding that at that point we left the arrangement by which water from the front gulley drained towards the centre, into a pipe that went through the roof and emptied into a hopper on the side elevation. This was finally dealt with by Derek Holt in 2002, who removed the pipe and remade the gulley so that it now drains towards its north-eastern end.
Kevin and Colin also carried out a range of more miscellaneous tasks. At a very early stage, they treated all the woodwork, and later they installed a damp proof course. Despite one or two mishaps like that over the leadwork on the roof, their work was generally excellent, and I also recall in retrospect that they worked extremely long hours. They actually stayed in the house - in sleeping bags in the side bedroom -- for several weeks while the works were in progress, so they started work at the crack of dawn and went on till dusk, meaning that each day they did perhaps an extra half day compared with what workers living off-site would have done. The result was that we achieved in one summer an amount of work that might otherwise have stretched on for a year or more. In the end, there was slight tension over what they charged me, and I have detailed justifications by Kevin as to exactly what everything cost, evidently because I had been questioning it. But, on balance, the whole operation went very smoothly, and Kevin and Colin subsequently adjourned to Marchmont Street, WC1, to carry out work on David’s flat there.
Front of house
Meanwhile Stuart replaced the downstairs front windows with windows with proper sash bars, the application for permission for which from the Council has already been noted. He seems also to have done quite a lot of work on the front balcony, which was in a pretty poor state when we took over the house. All of this and selected roof works (other than simple repairs) were the subject of a grant from the Council of £1,750. This was worth having, although it might seem slightly meagre compared with the actual cost of all the works that were carried out: I reckon that the roof alone cost well over £20,000, and the overall total spent on the house in 1991 came to nearly £55,000. On the other hand, it did represent a recognition of the significance of the work that had by this time been done. I am reminded how relieved Oliver and others were that at last this eyesore of a house -- a potential blight at the very heart of the Old Town -- was receiving serious and systematic attention, and it is good to reflect on that and to take comfort in it. I am also reminded that the surveyor, when he returned to the house to see what had been achieved since his original, very negative report on it, said in effect that the main thing was that the house was now at last being lived in and properly looked after.
All told, by the end of August 1991 the first phase of works was completed, with the house watertight and structurally intact, though with a vast amount of work outstanding. Thus, although planning permission had been obtained for the French windows to the rear study (and Carey & Edwards had produced a detailed specification for them), these were put on hold for the time being: instead, the sash window was temporarily left in place, above the rotten flooring to the rear study which also required attention. None of the rooms had been decorated at all, while there were endless other things still to be done: for instance, the well had come to light by the side of the house at this point, but this was just left under a slab for future reference. However, enough is enough, and I needed a break. Hence, at the end of August/start of September, I remember going on a motorbike trip to Somerset, the first such expedition I’d made that year apart from day trips. What a relief!